Indoor parking in attached garages is prevalent in single family homes and condominiums throughout the United States. Typically, such indoor parking structure is attached to the residence itself so the driver can enter the residence after parking the vehicle without returning outdoors. However, vehicles parked in a garage frequently carry mud and dirt with them, and in regions in the northern part of the United States, as well as in mountainous regions, will frequently become caked with snow, sand, salt and other chemicals used to keep the highways passable which will then drip onto the floor of the garage as the vehicle warms and the snow and ice melt. As a result, such environmental drippings as well as crankcase and other lubrication and/or fluid drippings will accumulate on the garage floor beneath the vehicle and have a tendency to spread by gravity throughout the garage. As a result, drivers and passengers moving to and from the vehicle will have a propensity to track such water, dirt and other contamination into the living spaces of the residence itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,670 to Saylor discloses a floor cover for disposition under a parked vehicle. The floor cover is proportioned to have a size larger than the size of the vehicle and has a raised edge around the cover creates a basin to collect and retain melting snow, water and dirt falling from the vehicle. The raised edge is formed by inserting a rubber hose in a folded edge region that forms the perimeter of the cover. There are openings at the four corners, and compression under the wheels of a vehicle would also momentarily breach the reservoir.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,692 discloses a parking pad in the form of an elongated flat board with raised sides that are used in pairs to form a guiding track for the vehicle to move along. The central region below the vehicle is unprotected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,658 shows a drip-catching mat having sidewalls that are raised to create a reservoir for holding liquid and debris, particularly dripping oil. A small version has a handle that allows the mat to be appropriately positioned beneath a parked vehicle. A larger embodiment of the mat is of a width to fit between the vehicle wheels and includes a pair of extensions that extend from opposite sides of the mat to correctly position the tires of the vehicle so the mat will be in the appropriate location therebelow. It is made of one-piece rubber construction, that would bend when a vehicle was driven over any edges, but is not suited for overall coverage simply because of size alone.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,250 shows a containment device construction designed to be appropriately positioned below a vehicle or in any location where leakage is anticipated. A central synthetic flooring is surrounded by four walls that are provided by elongated strips, each of which provides a channel, the cavity of which is filled with a hydrophobic absorbent material. Holes in the sidewalls allows liquids to enter the channel cavities where hydrocarbons are absorbed while water is allowed to drain via outer holes. Thus, the device would not be effective to prevent the spread of water from copious amounts of melting snow and ice that one would wish to retain so it would not be tracked into living space.
None of the mats and pads disclosed by the foregoing patents provides a totally satisfactory parking mat and berm particularly one that can be easily installed and reliably used on the floor of an attached garage. Thus, the search has continued for improved versions of devices of this general type.